Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The stench of a recently bad playoff past has just resurfaced in the nostrils of many Houston Rockets fans. I must warn you, being a 'Clutch City' fan, this article is going to be absolutely biased.

I have been a fan ever since my mother made me tune in to the final minutes of the 1986 Western Conference Finals between the favored Los Angles Lakers and my soon to be beloved Houston Rockets. My first memory of professional basketball was a memorable one. You might remember the moment, when Ralph Sampson hit a buzzer beating tip shot, sending the Rockets to the finals against the also heavily favored Boston Celtics. The rest is history as they say, with some great moments and some that just stank!

The stench to which I am referring, is the one left behind by ex-basketball coach Jeff Van Gundy. You might be asking yourself, "What does Van Gundy have to do with the Rockets and their current playoff situation?" Allow me to explain. During Tuesday night's playoff flop fest, courtesy of the Portland Trailblazers #10 Joel Prizbrilla, (flops that would have made John Stockton and Vlade Divac proud) referee Joey Crawford racked up numerous bad calls. The worst being directed at the Houston Rockets. If you're thinking, "Wait a minute, that Joey Crawford guy sure does ring a bell." Well it should!!!

Remember that lovely little stink Van Gundy stirred up during the 2005 playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks? Things weren't going too well with Yao Ming and all the fouls he was receiving, besides just being beat up with so few fouls called in return. After the game Van Gundy slammed referee Joey Crawford, and said he knew of an official not working the playoffs, who warned him of an oncoming concern regarding the Rockets center.

Spokesman for the NBRA, (National Basketball Referees Association) Lamell McMorris stated,"Van Gundy flat out lied to the public. And in the process, he called into question the reputations of all NBA game officials, and the integrity of the game itself. These are challenges that can not be overcome with a simple apology."

I too, thought the arenas and media rooms would have aired out long ago, leaving no trace of that sad stench, but apparently referee Joey Crawford has extra sensitive nostrils to go with an equally sensitive ego. Back in 2005, Lamell McMorris went on to say, "I think that it is naive to think that the matter is closed, as the league suggests in its press release. The matter will truly be closed only when Van Gundy is fired, and the league and teams stop blaming officials for their woes."

Even with Jeff Van Gundy long gone, it seems like some foul smells are harder to get rid of, and that whole 'time heals all wounds,' thing could just be a mith.Ok, ok, you got me. I don't place all the blame on poor ole Joey Crawford for the Rockets loss on Tuesday. It wasn't his fault the Rockets guards can't get Yao Ming the ball down the stretch in crunch time situations.(a season long problem) And even though he did play a part in disrupting the flow of the game, taking the Rockets mentally out of their groove, the game was very exciting from beginning to end. However, if I were to expand on these issues then I wouldn't have anything nasty to write!

Hopefully the next game played on Friday the 24th. will not bear anything 'foul.' Hold your heads high Rockets fans, we didn't loose that game, it was taken from us!